Giant Thoughts

This is a place for personal insights into our work by Save the Redwoods League leaders. You can explore posts by category: It Takes a Forest SM focuses on League project and program updates; Off the Beaten Path gets you into the redwood forest; Redwoods Futures illuminates the issues affecting our redwood forests; and The Eighth Wonders explores the art, education, and science of the redwood forests. Please join the conversation by posting your stories and comments.

Our hearts are with everyone affected by the devastating wildfires happening here in California. We have watched with shock, horror, and sadness as these fires have uprooted families, burned homes, and taken lives. Thousands have been working to contain … Continued

Discovered in 1998, the Grove of Titans is a stand of gargantuan coast redwoods immured deep in the lush Mill Creek watershed. Their discovery was a momentous occasion in the world of redwood conservation and science, and soon led to concerns about visitor impacts.

The midterm election on November 6, 2018, held mixed results for conservation and climate change priorities, and they will have lasting impacts on our ability to protect, restore, and connect people to California’s redwoods. While many climate change-related ballot measures … Continued

America’s most useful and cost-effective conservation program is about to expire this September, and we need your help to keep it going! For more than 50 years, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has served as the engine of America’s conservation and outdoor recreation movement. Without using a single taxpayer dollar, LWCF invests in our quality of life, a booming recreation economy, and our history and culture, protecting iconic places like Muir Woods National Monument.

We want to make sure we give everyone a chance to be part of our first-ever crowdfunding effort, so we’ve extended our deadline to October 31! We’ve also replenished the supply of our most popular Centennial thank-you gifts.

California’s General Election is on Nov. 6. With this redwoods voter guide, you can learn more about the measures endorsed by Save the Redwoods League and help us take a stand for the redwoods at the ballot box.

Every second Saturday of each month in 2018, Save the Redwoods League and California State Parks will be hosting a Free Redwoods Day. Parking passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis each month, ahead of the next event. Our next event is on November 10 — download your free pass now!

Thank you for being a part of the League family and for joining us at the many events and activities held during Centennial Celebration Week from October 7–14! All of us at the League have enjoyed meeting so many dedicated members and supporters and celebrating a century of work together during this special week.

Fueled by California’s Gold Rush in the 1850’s, Oakland’s ancient redwood forest was drastically cut to help build San Francisco. But one old tree was left behind, and with the amazing conservation efforts in the early 1900’s, a second-growth forest around the “Old Survivor” tree was protected as parkland for future generations.

Governor Jerry Brown has proclaimed October 2018 California Redwoods Month in honor of the redwood forests, “a globally significant treasure and a quintessential symbol of the Golden State.” With this Proclamation, Governor Brown and the State of California have taken an important stand for the redwoods!

To celebrate its 100th birthday during October, Save the Redwoods League invites everyone to #Stand4Redwoods and visit one of the 100+ redwood parks across California — for free! That’s 100 parks for 100 years. This expanded “birthday edition” of our Second Saturdays program will take place in October only. The October free entrance day is Saturday, October 13th, but you must first download your pass.

You can stand for the redwoods by covering the Internet with these amazing trees in October. We’re calling all people and organizations to join us in sharing the redwoods in enewsletters, blog posts, Facebook, and other social media and using the #Stand4Redwoods hashtag. This is going to be big and fun!

Celebrate redwoods with us during the League’s Centennial Celebration Week from October 7 to 14. Get a first look at the bands who will be performing at our Stand for the Redwoods Festivals in Humboldt County and San Francisco.

Everyone at Save the Redwoods League is so excited about the new giant sequoia curriculum for K-12 classrooms offered by the California State Parks PORTS® program, which stands for Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students. This distance learning program features the giant sequoia of Calaveras Big Trees State Park in its new unit and uses an innovative system incorporating interactive media and virtual reality platforms to teach about the ecosystems, wildlife, and history of California State Parks.

Fortunately, there are pockets in The City (as Bay Area residents know and love it) where locals and visitors can experience the redwoods, both virtually and tangibly. No need to even hop on any freeways or cross any bridges. ETA: less than an hour.

Save the Redwoods League is bringing the beauty of the redwood forest to thousands of commuters at San Francisco’s Montgomery Street train station from September 17 through October 15, 2018. For this limited time, images of the coast redwood forest cover the walls, floor, and ceiling of a 180-foot tunnel accessible on Sansome Street just north of Sutter Street in the Financial District.

Tom Stapleton’s research on albino redwoods started with searching for these rare trees in the wild and has led to the patent of three albino redwood varieties, named “Mosaic Delight”, “Grand Mosaic,” and “Early Snow,” which are albino redwood chimeras. Stapleton hopes to shed more light on understanding why these mutations exist.